When Selling Becomes Viral: Disruptions in Debt Markets in the COVID-19 Crisis and the Fed’s Response

Funding value adjustments

Valentin Haddad, Alan Moreira and Tyler Muir

The Review of Financial Studies, 2021, vol. 34, issue 11, 5309-5351

Abstract: We document extreme disruption in debt markets during the COVID-19 crisis: a severe price crash accompanied by significant dislocations at the safer end of the credit spectrum. Investment-grade corporate bonds traded at a discount to credit default swaps; exchange-traded funds traded at a discount to net asset value, more so for safer bonds. The Federal Reserve’s announcement of corporate bond purchases caused these dislocations to disappear and prices to recover. These facts inform potential theories of the disruption. The best explanation is an acute liquidity need for specific bond investors, such as mutual funds, leading them to liquidate large positions.

JEL-codes: E58 G00 G01 G12 G18 G20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (91)

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